A bad economy and independent prostitutes running Nevada brothels out of business

As state legislators ponder levying an 8% sales tax on brothels and other live entertainment, the director of the Nevada Brothel Association says that a bad economy and an abundance of illegal prostitutes is already killing off the business.

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"When I started as the lobbyist for the industry in 1985, we had 37 brothels in the state," George Flint told the Daily News. "Now we have just 18, and 12 to 14 of them are not doing very well."

In better economic times, Flint said the brothel industry served roughly 400,000 clients a year. Since the recession, however, those numbers have plummeted. That has led many women to go into business for themselves so as to avoid handing over 50 percent of their fee to brothel owners.

Prostitutes line up to be inspected and chosen at the Love Ranch located on the outskirts of Carson City, Nevada. (Gilles Mingasson)

As a result, Flint said, prices for sex have fallen.

"Instead of paying $400 for a room at a brothel, these guys can now go out and get the same service for a third of the money," Flint said.

State officials estimate that there are some 30,000 sex workers just in Las Vegas, where prostitution remains illegal.

A view of the Shady Lady Ranch in Nye County, Nevada. (ROBYN BECK)

"Look in the phone book, there are what, 100 pages for nude dancers who'll come to your hotel room?" Flint said. "The big hotels have their own girls. The strip clubs have upstairs rooms. You have a variety of different levels of prostitution in Vegas."

With those many layers, the city has no shortage of problems, from violent pimps to the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV.

"Since 1987, we've never had a single woman test positive for HIV who worked in a brothel," Flint said.

A prostitute waits for a mandatory weekly doctor's visit at the Love Ranch. (Gilles Mingasson)

A PPP poll conducted in 2012 found that 66% of Nevada residents believed that brothels should be legal across the state. Few politicians, however, have shown the political will to take on the issue.

"My constituents are not ready for it," former Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman told an audience at UNLV in 2011. "They are always ready to have a good discussion because they are smart people, but they are not ready to legalize prostitution because they have moral objections."

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Barring a sudden economic turnaround or what he sees as an unlikely political awakening, Flint sees continued trouble for the brothel industry.

"I'm an optimistic guy, but I'm not optimistic that this business will bounce back very quickly," Flint said.